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1/24/2015

Michigan's Right-to-work law slowly reducing unionization

Between 2013 and 2014, the number of workers represented by unions fell by 25,000, the number of union members fell by 48,000 (an 11% drop). To put it differently, 96.4% of those covered by unions were previously members and now it is down to 92.7%. Since the right-to-work law only applies when union contracts have to be renegotiated and most contracts last three years, the drop will continue for at least a while over time. In addition, as more people leave the union, it will probably reduce the social pressure on others to remain in it. After four or five years, we will probably have a much better measure of how much additional freedom workers in Michigan have gotten.